There has been an itch in the back of my mind when it comes to our online magazine. Our fashion section has mainly been male dominated due to the obvious fact of me being a man. Other global columnists are also more comfortable in offering fashion advice for men. Now some people think if you know what’s good for a man or a woman then the opposite sex should come easy.
Not true.
My understanding of men’s fashion did not translate over well into women’s. Don’t get me wrong, I know when a lady steals the show, but I always struggled to help in her robbery, until now. After attending a few fashion shows for the past few months and browsing through a plethora of women’s fashion blogs/magazines/lingerie stores, (I know the sacrifices I make for my readers, what a tough life) my vision for women’s fashion slowly began to sharpen. The trouble is that with fashion everything starts with the shoes, regardless of gender. This was my problem; women’s shoes are far more complex than that of men’s. With every type of shoe comes a new set of guidelines to understand. However, I am up for the challenge to give a man’s perspective on women’s fashion. Now I warn all the readers as my concept of honesty is your concept of douche bag. You will need to deal with it.
Our articles won’t be geared towards only how to be more attractive for men, no. Our advice will be based on how to be more attractive for yourself, which increases your well-being and confidence (side effect, the men notice). You don’t need to take our advice nor will we frown upon your decision to disagree. Other magazines have the audacity to claim the copyrights of fashion rules, we don’t. Their primary goal is to sell you something. Our goal is to inform and along the way probably offend you with honesty. So let us begin on one of the most important aspects of a women’s body.
Lips
Lips are by far some of the most attractive features on women. Don’t just take my words on it, scientists have found that the size of somebody’s lips plays a key role in determining whether they are sexually attractive to other people.
Professor Michael Cunningham, a psychologist from the University of Louisville, explained that women are looking for an elusive combination that suggests both sensuality and ruggedness in men. On the other hand, the research suggests that men are looking for a sizzling combination of fullness, redness and warmth in women. What I found interesting in the study was women who clinch their lips tightly in a conversation send off a clear signal, subconsciously or not, that they are not interested.
Now keep in mind if one is interested to a point of being nervous her lips could be clenched.
Confusing eh?
As a general guideline, according to Professor Cunningham: “If a woman is holding her lips very tightly clenched, that is not a good sign.” He stressed how the lips can convey real warmth and receptivity, and when someone is genuinely pleased to see you, they flush and become fuller and darker. Lipstick can help you make these signs clearer and showcase a sense of inner confidence in embracing/enhancing your features. Establishing the importance of lips only solidifies the need for understanding lipstick. Now don’t panic if your lips are not on par with Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson, Amber Heard from The Rum Diary, or Rose Huntington-Whiteley from Transformers: Dark of the Moon. They are beyond beauty. Oh, the things I would do to them…
Now back to lipstick.
Just keep in mind that all of the aforementioned ladies wish they had their own lips, meaning most are probably fake (not Amber’s in The Rum Diary of course). Reject the injections and embrace the power of lipstick.
What Not To Do
If you’re the type of girl that wears tanning lotion or hits the tan bar every so often, well in some light doses perhaps you may look better. Chances are though you look like an oompa loompa. These types also slap on bright pink lipstick to further enhance the contrast in their skin.
Stop this now. You look bad.
The number one “thing” found in most tanning beds is shit. Yes, that is correct. Regardless of quality your tanning bed will have traces of actual shit.
Disgusting.
The main takeaway is to understand that lipstick changes your tone of skin. Some lush dark red will make you appear whiter, while the light pink may give you a darker tone of skin. But for me, pink lipstick is a hard call to make, as you are 95% of time better off replacing it with dark lush red (this depends on what blush you are also using).
Leave the bright pink lipstick to the extreme pros.
Bold and Healthy Lips
Just because I strongly believe pink lipstick is for 8 year old girls does not mean you must only wear the safe bets. Live a little and go bold with black, dark purple, emerald green, and gold. During social events when you first walk into that room with that dress, those heels you know kill, and that flawless hair (for the next few hours), it’s your lips that most guys will be looking at (well the classy fellows).
Slapping on a fine shade of lipstick is a great start but real beauty can’t be wiped off with a wet tissue. Make sure you wear lip balm before you sleep and exfoliate twice a month to ensure your natural lips hold their own. Far too many girls overuse lipstick, which only waters down the impact they have. How many social events have you gone to in the last month? If you wore lipstick at half of them, you’re overdosing.
“If I had to teach someone just one thing about lip color it would be this: Find a lipstick that looks good on your face when you are wearing absolutely no makeup.”
– Bobbi Brown
This is a tough one as it really depends on two variables: your profession and seniority. The higher you are the more lipstick you can wear since you have power. Certain professions would frown or clinch their lips towards lipstick in the workplace. Just keep things classy and always beware of your office environment/protocol. For guidance, look at senior management and never go beyond them. Lipstick at the workplace, if done correctly, can further enhance your aura of authority and sheer confidence, which will in return demand respect from everyone. Clearly the role of lipstick changes according to your environment.
For more details on lip liner and lip gloss check out this great source. In person advice is also available at most cosmetic stores but bring a few friends to avoid being hassled into buying bad lipstick like bright pink.
I hope you found our first fashion article for women useful. For me, breaking down financial derivatives was easier than trying to explain the wonders of lipstick. Mindthis has been recruiting columnists just for Women’s Fashion to become a world leading source for young professional women. With everyday advice to critiques on feminism in the fashion world, we promise both professional and personal development. Reaching out to over 150 countries was just the start.
Shaaz
Amber Heard
By the way this is Salmon, not Pink.